National Security

One lesson of American history is that in times of war or crisis, American presidents, lawmakers and citizens often lose their minds. Another lesson is that they eventually regain their senses. When it comes to national security in the age of terrorism, it looks as though the national fever has broken. When Congress passed the Patriot Act in October 2001, it gave the federal government greater authority for foreign intelligence and terrorism investigations. In those panicky days, the impulse was to say: Do whatever you have to do, and if the American Civil Liberties Union isn't happy, do more of it. But even those who wanted to unleash the national security state didn't realize...

Related "National Security" Articles

A smile softened the young woman's somber face as she recalled the prostitution arrest that saved her life.The April 2013 bust in a South Whitehall Township motel wasn't the end of her ordeal. But it was the moment she made contact with the detective...

In a major vindication for Edward Snowden — and a blow for the national security policy pursued by Republicans and Democrats alike — the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Thursday that the National Security Agency's metadata collection...

We have immigration laws in this country for two basic reasons: to preserve American jobs and to protect national security. President Barack Obama's unlawful executive actions to grant amnesty to at least 5 million illegal immigrants violate both of those...

I recently joined with 74 of my fellow House Republicans in voting to fund the Department of Homeland Security. This vote is causing consternation for some. It shouldn't be. It was the right vote to protect our country and to govern responsibly.
Keep...

— Former Pennsylvania governor and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge joined with other past and present agency chiefs Wednesday to urge Congress to act on a funding bill before the department runs out of money at midnight Friday.
Ridge, a...

— Another financial cliff is looming before Congress, and Lehigh Valley Congressman Charlie Dent might be forgiven for saying, 'I told you so.'"
If Congress doesn't approve a funding bill by Friday night, the Department of Homeland Security will run...

Congress needs to get its act together. I believe the American electorate last November gave the Republicans the power to govern.
Now, House Speaker John Boehner is preparing for a potential Department of Homeland Security shutdown later this month,...

The decision by a federal judge in Texas on Monday to strike down President Barack Obama's immigration reform initiative runs to a whopping 123 pages.
But the crucial ruling is fairly narrow: In adopting a plan to allow unlawful immigrants to apply for...

Congressional Republicans have sought to put the president's immigration policies at the forefront of the debate over a Homeland Security bill, and now Democrats are aiming to shift the rhetorical battle to your local firehouse.
If the bill isn't...

Speaking before the World Economic Forum in Switzerland last month, Secretary of State John Kerry described global terrorism as "nothing more than criminal anarchy, a nihilism which illegitimately claims an ideological and religious foundation."...

Sony said it is canceling the Christmas Day release of "The Interview" after movie theater chains — including the owners of a half-dozen cinemas in the Lehigh Valley — announced Wednesday they were scrapping plans to show the North Korea...

Of all the shocks and revelations in the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on CIA torture, one seems very strange and unlikely: that the agency misinformed the White House and didn't even brief President George W. Bush about its controversial program...

Cyber investigators looking for the culprits of a devastating hack into Sony Pictures Entertainment have found some links to North Korea — hacking tools similar to those used by that country in previous attacks on South Korea.
A person familiar with...

Question for Speaker John Boehner: Are you better off than you were a month ago? Yes, yes, yes. Finally, the conditions are ripe for a duffer with a year-round tan, a pack of smokes and a glass of Merlot to do some business.
Boehner bought himself a big,...

NEW YORK — Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday the metropolitan area remains under threat of terrorist attack, and that commuters will see an increased security presence in the city and at transit points as a result.
Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Christopher...

CAMP HILL — Ahead of President Barack Obama's speech to the nation on his plans for combating Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, former Gov. Tom Ridge praised the president's steps so far in handling the foreign crisis.
The militant group,...

In 2002, my aircraft carrier battle group was conducting retaliatory strikes against Afghanistan when I was directed to move into the Persian Gulf and begin precursor combat operations against Iraq. While meeting with the fleet commander, I told him we...

MOSCOW — Former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, wanted by the United States for leaking extensive secrets of its electronic surveillance programs, has been given a three-year residence permit by Russia, his Russian lawyer said on...

Sen. Bob Casey said Wednesday he was "stunned" that the White House staffer behind a snarky and often offensive anonymous Twitter feed insulting public officials was a man he knew well - or thought he did.
During the early days of Casey's...